20th. I had now performed my last labor
at St. Mary’s—­which was the preparation
of my narrative of the expedition to Itasca Lake.
I looked, in parting, with fond regret at the trees
I had planted, the house I had built, the walks I
had constructed, the garden I had cultivated, the
meadow lands I had reclaimed from the tangled forest,
and the wide and noble prospects which surrounded
Elmwood. All was to be left—­and I only
waited for a suitable vessel to embark, bag and baggage,
for the sacred island whose formal polysyllables had
formed the dread of my spelling days at school—­Michilimackinack.

CHAPTER XLVII.

Earliest point of French occupancy in the area of
the Upper Lakes—­Removal of my residence
from the Sault St. Marie to the island of Michilimackinack—­Trip
to New York—­Its objects—­American
Philosophical Society—­Michilimackinack;
its etymology—­The rage for investment in
western lands begins—­Traditions of Saganosh—­Of
Porlier—­Of Perrault—­Of Captain
Thorn—­Of the chief, Old Wing—­Of
Mudjekewis, of Thunder Bay—­Character of
Indian tradition respecting the massacre at old Fort
Mackinack in 1763.

1833. June 1st. The cascades, or rapids
of Sault de Ste. Marie, which occur at the
point of the sinking of the water level between Lakes
Superior and Huron, were, it seems, first visited,
under the French government, by Charles Raumbault,
in 1641. It appears to have been one of the earliest
points occupied. In 1668, Claude D’Ablon
and James Marquette established there the mission
of St. Mary—­since which, the place and
the rapids have borne that name.

I had been a member of the first exploring expedition
which the U.S. Government sent into that region
in 1820. Troops landed here to occupy it in 1822,
on which occasion I was entrusted by the President,
with the management of Indian affairs. I had
now lived almost eleven years at this ancient and
remote point of settlement, which is at the foot of
the geological basin of Lake Superior—­a
period which, aside from official duties, was, in
truth, devoted to the study of the history, customs,
and languages of the Indians. These years are
consecrated in my memory as a period of intellectual
enjoyment, and of profound and pleasing seclusion
from the world. It was not without deep regret
that I quitted long cherished scenes, abounding in
the wild magnificence of nature, and went back one
step into the area of the noisy world, for it was impressed
on my mind, that I should never find a theatre of
equal repose, and one so well adapted to my simple
and domestic tastes and habits. For I left here
in the precincts of Elmwood, a beautiful seat, which
I had adorned with trees of my own planting, which
abounded in every convenience and comfort, and commanded
one of the most magnificent prospects in the world.